In the middle of a nasty blizzard the pre-Toyfair festivities roll on. We just got back and dried off from the Thunderdog Studios party and toy unveiling at Fuse Gallery in NYC. Beyond the top-notch vinyl toys previously unveiled, the dog had at leat four surprise vinyl projects. IMO the most striking was the huge Filth 9mm from Luke Irwin aka Filth (of course!). This is Filth’s take on the legendary and ubiquitous Beretta 9MM pistol. This baby measures 12-inches across! A couple of things stand out here. First, this is designer vinyl but against the mold of character-based figures at least in the standard sense. Second, the piece can be approached from several angles. Pure symbol worship? Social commentary about the role of firearms in our society? A little bit of both? Something entirely else? Finally, this one comes in a faux (presumably) wood-grain gun box. This one drops in July ’06 in three versions Pink Flock, Gloss White and the "Secret Christmas Version". Vinyl’s getting stale? Nope, not here.
Flawless victory, FATALITY!
wow….Thunderdog sure is coming out with some lame stuff…..vinyl grafitti and now a vinyl gun. I could go get a plastic gun from walmart. jeeze, what a waste.
Yep, really lame stuff from Thunderdog.
“Vinyl’s getting stale? Nope, not here.”
It’s quite the opposite of this statement if this is what ThunderDog are comin’ out with.. I think this is taking away from the whole vinyl scene and the whole character design side of things.
If I wanted a toy gun, I’d go buy a BB gun.. plus guns just turn things violent, I don’t believe this piece IS trying to make a statement.. It’s more like “Hey, Lets take a random object and put an artists name on it”.
This should be put on the trash pile with the qee sleeping bag, Dunny shoes and KR candles.
Official Verdict = LAME
Sorry for the double post but I just noticed something on the middle pic with writing.. “..that essence is celebrated in a way that can appeal to gun aficionados, pacifists and SMALL CHILDREN alike.”
What the f**k.. Hmm, so bascially they wanna get children to enjoy guns? What about the fact that guns KILL people?
Seems like a stupid idea/joke.
Man, you haters are everywhere these days, huh? First of all, the fact is that have you ever seen a big ass vinyl gun covered in pink flock? Do you even have artisticness in your hody at all? Not only is the gun great, but the rest of the stuff that’s not show yet from the show are all hits. Overal verdict on haters that are jealous because the very big vinyl gun is making them insecure about their “own” gun = LAME
I have that font, I see no design talent here. Dumb.
It has nothing to do with hate.
I think the piece is good, not the strongest statement I’ve seen but definitely not lame.
The Subject of fire arms will always be charged and controversial, I’ve seen art commenting on the issue through transforming the subject itself in some way. this is not new. but it is a legitimate way to make a statement on the issue of violence and guns as a status symbol.
Then there’s the “cool” aspect of the gun, kids have been playing cowboys and indians for a long time, filth is not the one putting guns in kids hands. it’s an entire toy industry feeding on fire arm lookalikes and violence, be it BB guns, Paintball or water canons. maybe there is a statement in that as well?
And lets not forget the rap industry, using the Thug life to promote records and make piles of cash, perhaps another statement?
I can go on and on with these examples of firearms as an icon being used as a means to an end. you might agree with it or disagree but the subject is there to comment on and discuss.
MAking a flocked pink 12′ bareta replica is not going to encourage killing anyone, on the contrary, It’s filled with humor 🙂 and puts to ridicule the ritual of gun worship!
Whatever it is, saying it’s lame is lameness itself.
This is my humble opinion, feel free to disagree, these are toys and they look awesome!
HONK!
I don’t really like it to be honest, in the end it is just a gun with Filth’s logo/tag on it. It’s not even Filth’s own design :S
Not saying it’s Lame just not my cuppa tea.
Thought the vinyl graff I really like 😀
hahaha KR candles….now that was a bad idea….not diggn this at all.
While I’m not a huge fan of this piece, I have a lot of respect for Thunderdog right now. They’re trying new things and any time you take risks there are going to be successes and failures. The vinyl tag was inspired and has the potential to start a new subset of vinyl featuring different tags and colorways. The 9mm is a good concept, there is a lot of irony in creating an oversized vinyl pistol. It begs to create a dialogue over the object vs. the significance. Is a gun a gun when it’s not a gun? On the other hand the piece itself is just a slightly stylized mold of a berreta. This vinyl could’ve been taken farther in the conceptual stages, but there’s really no need for all this misplaced venom and hatred. Art isn’t easy. If it was we would just be creating limited edition Happy Meal toys.
Big ups to Thunderdog for trying something new, I hope you guys keep at it.
My statement wasn’t hateful in any way towards ThunderDog, I think they have produced some awesome stuff recently. The vinyl graff is a great idea and is a fun way for someone to have graffiti in their own home, from respected street artists.
I also like filth’s work, his pink samurai dunny is one of ma fave vinyl pieces.
This gun to me though, raises issue.. not just about guns, but about whether vinyl is getting stale or too abstract. As Jim stated, there isn’t much design talent (if any) behind this idea.. Jus a name on an oversized vinyl gun.
In the end, this is just my opinion, some people may agree and some might not. No need to cause a seen, im not trying to persuade people into disliking it.
Are you for real! first a stale elephant then candles other lameness in between and NOW a straight rip form another vinyl artist. An item dropped 5 years ago and well documented in the scene. Wow man, wow.
Best of luck.